Frequently asked questions

Choose a package, then set it up the way your party needs it: the room type, how many adults and children are travelling, and any extras. The price updates as you go, so you always see what the trip costs before you commit to anything.

When you are happy with it you go through to checkout, fill in your details and pay. Your confirmation follows as soon as the payment settles.

No. You can secure your booking with a deposit and pay the rest later, or pay the full amount straight away if you would rather have it done with.

The deposit options appear at checkout, along with exactly what will be charged now and what will remain outstanding.

You can pay online with iDEAL, or arrange to pay at our office. If you choose to pay at the office your booking is held and settled in person rather than charged now.

The date is set before you agree to anything and it is written on your booking confirmation, so you know it at the moment you book rather than finding out later.

If a payment is missed we send a reminder giving you seven days to settle it. Left after that, the booking is treated as cancelled from that date and whatever has been paid is set against the cancellation charge.

Your booking exists from the moment you accept the offer and we confirm it in writing. The confirmation email is the record of what you booked, so keep it, and read it against what you thought you were buying.

If anything on it looks wrong, tell us straight away rather than waiting.

A price becomes yours when the booking is confirmed, and not before. Until then it follows the cost of flights and hotel rooms, both of which move daily, and in busy periods they move quickly.

If you have been given a quotation and you want to hold it, book it. That is the only thing that fixes a price.

Almost all of the difference is the hotels and the timing. How close a hotel stands to the Haram is the single biggest factor, because a few minutes on foot costs a great deal more than a short bus ride, and prices climb steeply in Ramadan and the school holidays.

Flights matter too. The same trip costs noticeably more or less depending on the airline, whether it is direct, and how far ahead the seats were bought.

Every package page lists what that trip includes: flights, hotels, transfers and whatever else comes with it. It varies between packages, so read the list on the trip you are looking at rather than assuming it matches another one.

Anything not included can be added while you configure the trip, with its price shown as you add it.

Not for anything in your booking. What you have paid for is settled, and nothing in the package is charged again in Saudi Arabia.

The only additions are things you choose to buy while you are there, which are yours to decide on.

Yes, at any time, but it costs something from the moment the booking exists. Package travel sold in the Netherlands carries no cooling off period, so there is no window in which cancelling is free.

What it costs depends on how close to departure you cancel. The bands are in the next answer.

A percentage of the trip price, rising as departure approaches:

• More than 30 days before departure: 20% of the trip price
• 29 to 15 days before: 50%
• 15 days before, up to the departure date: 100%

If our actual loss turns out to be lower than the band, we charge the lower amount. The charge can never be more than the price of the trip.

Not as a rule. Cancelling carries the charge for the band you are in, and changing your mind, or feeling nervous about travelling, is not an exception to that.

There are two situations where you pay nothing. If we make a change to your trip that leaves you materially worse off and you refuse it, you get your money back. And if the trip does not go ahead because too few people booked, the same applies.

Anything else is what a cancellation insurance is for, which is why we recommend taking one.

Someone else travelling in your place is the one we can usually arrange. Ask at least 30 days before departure, or early enough that the paperwork can still be done. The person taking your place has to meet the same conditions, the airline and hotels have to allow it, and the costs of the change are yours. You and they are both responsible for anything still owed.

Dates, rooms and other changes we are not obliged to agree to, and whether we can depends on what the airline and the hotel will allow. Ask us. Where we can make the change, you pay what it costs us.

You are offered an alternative, and it has to be genuinely equivalent. That is judged on facts rather than opinion: the standard of the hotel and how far it stands from the Haram, not how it is described.

If what you are offered leaves you materially worse off, you can refuse it. We would then either find something else or end the booking and return your money.

Only for serious reasons, and we tell you when it happens. If the change leaves you materially worse off you can refuse it, and then you are entitled to your money back.

The price can rise up to 30 days before departure, and only because the cost of transport, fuel, taxes or levies has risen. We show you how the increase was worked out, and you can refuse that too. Once the full amount has been paid, the price cannot rise at all.

Every departure needs a minimum number of travellers, and that minimum is told to you before you book. If it is not reached we can end the booking in writing, within the period stated in the offer, and you get your money back.

It is uncommon, and you would hear from us as soon as we knew rather than at the last moment.

Yes. Everyone travelling from the Netherlands needs an Umrah visa, and it is arranged as part of your trip rather than by you separately.

It is an electronic visa that lets you perform Umrah and travel freely around Saudi Arabia during your stay, not only Makkah and Madinah but the rest of the country as well.

No, and nobody can. Saudi rules require an Umrah visa to come with accommodation and transport arranged through an approved provider, so a visa on its own is not something that can be issued.

If a company offers you one, treat that as a reason to be careful rather than pleased.

Your passport is the main one, and in most cases a recent passport photograph. Depending on your nationality and situation there may be more, and we will tell you exactly what once you have booked.

Send them early. Almost every problem with a visa comes from paperwork arriving late rather than from the visa itself.

At least six months beyond the date you return.

Check this early. Renewing a passport takes longer than most people expect, and it is the most common reason a booking runs into trouble.

Not as identification. A photocopy is not a valid identity document in the Netherlands, so while your passport is with us for the visa, carry your Dutch identity card or driving licence for everyday identification.

It varies with the season and with your nationality, and it is slowest in the weeks before Ramadan when everybody applies at once.

The honest answer is that no company can promise a date, which is why we ask for documents early. What we can do is tell you where your application has reached whenever you ask.

A tourist visa does allow Umrah to be performed. It does not allow Hajj, and no visa other than a Hajj visa is accepted for that.

The rules here change from season to season, so ask us rather than relying on what was true last year.

Usually yes, provided the permit stays valid well beyond your return date. It does mean a longer lead time and sometimes extra documents.

Tell us when you book so we can start it early rather than discovering it late.

It does not stop you travelling with us, but it usually means extra paperwork and a longer lead time. There is a question about it during checkout, and once you have answered it we will contact you about what your nationality needs.

In a growing number of countries, yes. Biometric details are recorded through the official Saudi Visa Bio app: a scan of your passport, a photograph of your face, and your fingerprints, all before the visa is issued.

We will tell you whether it applies to your booking and walk you through it.

Up to 90 days. The visa cannot be extended beyond that, and overstaying carries a fine, so plan your return within it.

Yes. A male guardian is no longer required for a woman to obtain an Umrah visa and perform Umrah.

No. It is a common situation and it is handled routinely. You will usually be asked for a short declaration from a mosque or an Islamic organisation confirming that you are Muslim.

Tell us when you book and we will explain exactly what is needed.

Where a couple shares a room, a marriage certificate is normally requested. If you cannot find yours, a declaration from your municipality or from an Islamic organisation is usually accepted instead.

This is worth sorting out early rather than in the last fortnight.

A direct flight from Amsterdam to Jeddah takes roughly six hours. With a stop, expect anywhere between nine and fourteen hours depending on the connection.

Each package page shows the airline and both legs, so you can see before you book whether your trip is direct.

It is set per package rather than chosen at checkout, and the package page names it along with both flight times and the baggage allowance that comes with it.

If flying direct matters to you, filter for it before comparing prices. It is one of the biggest differences between otherwise similar trips.

That depends on the airline and the fare your trip is booked on. The allowance for your flight is shown on the package page and again on your ticket, for both checked and cabin baggage.

Usually yes, and some packages offer it as an extra while you are configuring the trip.

Arrange it before you fly. Extra baggage bought in advance costs considerably less than the same weight bought at the airport desk.

Report it at the airport before you leave the baggage hall, and keep the written report the airline gives you. Without that report a later claim is very hard to make.

Then tell us. We cannot make an airline find a bag faster, but we can deal with them on your behalf and make sure you are not left without essentials in Makkah.

Alcohol, pork products and material considered offensive to Islam are not permitted, and customs checks are taken seriously.

Prescription medicine is fine, but carry it in its original packaging with the prescription. If you are unsure about a particular item, ask us before you pack it rather than at the airport.

Transport is arranged as part of the trip. You are met after arrival and taken to your hotel by coach.

By coach, arranged as part of the trip. The journey takes around five to six hours and you do not need to organise anything yourself.

Every hotel we use shows its walking distance to the Haram on the package page, along with its rating and which city it is in.

It is the thing most worth comparing between trips, and it is the main reason two otherwise similar packages differ in price.

It depends on the package, and where meals are included the package page says which ones.

Where they are not, there is plenty to eat around both Harams at every price.

Yes. Each package page names its hotels and shows photographs, the star rating, the city and the walking distance, so you can see what you are booking rather than be told about it afterwards.

Sometimes, and where that is a possibility the package page says so beside the hotel. Any replacement has to be genuinely comparable in standard and in distance from the Haram.

You would hear it from us rather than discover it at check in.

That is your choice. Each package offers several room types, and the price per person falls as more people share. You pick the room while configuring the trip and the price updates as you do.

On many packages, yes, for a supplement. Where sole use is available it appears as an option while you configure the trip, with the supplement shown before you commit to it.

The meningococcal ACWY vaccination is the one to arrange first, and it should be given at least ten days before you travel. Seasonal influenza is also commonly advised.

Requirements are set by the Saudi authorities and change from season to season, so check with your GP or a travel vaccination service well before departure, and tell us if you are unsure.

Every package page carries a checklist of what to bring, put together for that trip.

Work through it a week or two before you go rather than the night before. Several of the items are much easier to sort out at home than in Makkah.

Take some, but not much. Cards are widely accepted in both cities, and carrying a large amount of cash through crowds is a risk you do not need to take.

A debit card plus enough cash for the first day is a sensible balance.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah names these outright: weapons and ammunition, drugs and intoxicants of any kind, chewing tobacco, fireworks, lasers, electric shock devices, hidden listening or recording equipment, counterfeit money, and anything obscene, whether printed or on a drive.

Customs is the authority on anything not on that list, so if you are unsure about a particular item, leave it at home. Every package page carries a packing list with the same section on it.

You may carry more than 60,000 riyals, but you have to declare it on arrival. Gifts are treated the same way: anything worth more than 3,000 riyals counts as commercial goods rather than presents, and has to be declared too.

For an ordinary trip neither limit is anywhere close, which is the point of knowing them: they exist to catch what is being moved rather than what is being spent.

Yes, and bring it in its own packaging rather than loose in a bag. A prescription or a letter from your doctor is worth carrying for anything unusual or anything in quantity.

Keep what you take daily in your hand luggage. A bag that arrives a day late is an inconvenience; a bag with your medicine in it is not.

Yes, and it applies from the moment you arrive rather than only at the mosques. Men and women both dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees at a minimum, with women covering the hair in the Haram.

Pack light, loose clothing. Both cities are hot, and you will be walking and standing far more than you expect.

Hot for most of the year and very hot in summer, when temperatures in Makkah regularly pass forty degrees. Winter is milder, which is why those months are popular.

Whenever you travel, plan on drinking far more water than you would at home.

Usually yes, but tell us when you book rather than at the airport. Umrah involves a great deal of walking and long days.

Knowing in advance lets us tell you honestly whether a particular trip suits you, and arrange help where help exists.

Yes, though Saudi Arabia is outside the EU roaming zone, so check what your provider charges before you fly. Local SIM cards are sold at the airport and are usually cheaper for a longer stay.

Hotels generally have wifi. Do not rely on it inside the Haram, where the networks are heavily loaded.

None is included in the trip, and arranging it is yours to do. We strongly advise both a travel insurance and a cancellation insurance.

The cancellation one matters more than people expect. Cancelling costs a percentage of the trip that rises steeply as departure approaches, and an insurance is what stands between you and that bill when something happens that you did not choose.

Saudi law requires burial to take place there, and it cannot be arranged in advance that a body will be returned to the Netherlands. It is a difficult thing to read, and it is better read now than learned in the moment.

If this concerns you, speak to us before you book and we will explain what actually happens and who helps the family.

Yes. Umrah appointments are booked through the official Nusuk app, and you can hold one active permit at a time. The next can be booked once the current one has passed.

Nusuk is the official Saudi app through which Umrah and Rawdah permits are booked. You register with your passport and visa details, and it accepts international phone numbers.

Install it and register before you fly. Doing it on arrival, tired and without reliable data, is how people miss their first appointment.

Wait for it to expire, then book another. A permit cannot be moved to a different time once its slot has begun, and there is no penalty for missing one beyond the wait.

Prayer in the Rawdah Sharifah needs its own permit, booked through the Nusuk app, and there is a gap of around thirty days between visits.

Praying elsewhere in the Prophet’s Mosque needs no permit at all. You can go whenever you wish.

Yes. There is no limit on how many times you may perform Umrah, and no fee for repeating it. You hold one permit at a time and book the next once the current one has passed.

Yes. The permit governs when you perform Umrah, not how long you stay afterwards, and you are free to remain for prayer.

Permits are issued from age five upwards. Younger children can travel with you and be in the courtyards of both mosques, but they are not given a permit of their own.

Yes. Electric carts for Tawaf and Sa’i are provided at the Haram and can be arranged on site.

If someone in your party will need one, tell us when you book so we can plan the rest of the trip around it.

Yes. Guidance centres operate around the Grand Mosque throughout the year, and there are supervised areas for young children.

Find the nearest one on your first day rather than when you need it.

Yes. An Umrah visa allows travel throughout Saudi Arabia, not only between Makkah and Madinah.

Tell us first. That is what we are there for, and most of these are resolved quickly. If you cannot reach anyone, the Saudi pilgrim care centre can be called on 920002814.

Photograph your passport before you travel and keep the picture somewhere separate. It makes everything that follows much faster.

Tell your group leader immediately. Both Harams are enormous and people are separated in them every single day, so this is common and usually short lived.

Agree a meeting point before you go in, and make sure everyone has it written down rather than only in their phone.

For most of the year. The season runs from the start of Muharram to the end of Dhu al Qi’dah, pausing around the Hajj period.

Ramadan is by far the busiest time and needs booking a long way ahead.

It varies by package. Each trip shows its exact length, departure and return dates on its own page, and you can filter the list by duration to find one that fits.

Hajj is the pilgrimage every able Muslim performs once, and it falls on fixed days in one month of the year. Umrah can be performed at almost any time, takes far less time, and involves fewer rites.

Umrah does not replace Hajj, and performing it does not discharge the obligation.

It is the most rewarding time and the most demanding one. Both Harams are extremely full, the last ten nights especially, and hotels near the Haram sell out months ahead at their highest prices of the year.

If you are set on Ramadan, book early. If it is your first Umrah and you would rather not face those crowds, another month will be calmer.

Yes, and most people travelling with us are going for the first time. You do not need to know the rites in advance.

If you are unsure which package suits a first visit, ask us. The honest answer often depends on how much walking you want to do and which month you can travel.

Yes, once in a lifetime, for anyone who is able. Able means both able to afford it and well enough to make the journey, and it is one of the five pillars.

Allah says in the Qur’an, in the interpretation of the meaning: “And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, for those who can find a way there.” (Al Imran)

You can take your child with you, and many people do. It does not discharge the obligation for them: Hajj and Umrah are not required of anyone who has not reached adulthood, because the pen is lifted for a child until they grow up.

The reward for taking them is yours, and when they are grown the obligation is still theirs to meet.

Debts come first. Hajj is required of those who are able, and somebody who owes money they have not settled is not in that position, so the obligation does not fall on them yet.

If the person you owe agrees to it, you may go. Speak to them before you book rather than after.

For Umrah, no. A woman may obtain an Umrah visa and perform Umrah without a male guardian.

For Hajj it is different. A woman under 45 must be accompanied by a mahram, and has to prove the relationship. A woman of 45 or over may travel without one, but needs written consent from her mahram.

Yes, and you must. The intention is made at the Miqat like everybody else, and it cannot be put off until you reach Makkah and are pure.

What waits is the Umrah itself. You perform it once you are pure and have made Ghusl. On Hajj you take part in everything except the Tawaf around the Kaaba and the two rak’ahs prayed after it.

It is waived. A menstruating woman does not perform Tawaf al-Wada and owes nothing in its place, with no expiation and nothing to make up.

Umrah can, for most of the year. Hajj cannot: it falls once a year, in Dhul Hijjah, and only then.

We use them to deal with your enquiry and to arrange your trip, and for nothing else. They are not passed to anyone else, except where the law requires it or where a supplier needs them to provide part of your booking, which for Umrah means the embassy, the airline and the hotels.

For as long as we need them to deal with what you asked us to do. After that you can ask us to remove them, and we will, apart from anything we are obliged to keep for legal or accounting reasons.

Yes, to both. You can ask for a copy of everything we hold about you, and you can ask us to delete it. Write to us and we will deal with it.

The only exception is anything the law requires us to keep.

Only what the site needs to work. Nothing here follows you around the internet or builds a profile of you.

Pages that embed something from elsewhere, a video for instance, behave as though you had visited that site directly, and what those companies collect is governed by their own terms rather than ours.

Yours, and we help. We give you the information about passports, visas and health requirements before the booking is made, and we advise wherever we can, but carrying the right documents on the day is yours.

If a trip cannot be made because a document is missing or has expired, the cost falls on you, unless it was a document we had undertaken to obtain.

What we publish ourselves is part of your booking and we stand behind it. What somebody else has written about our trips, on a forum or a social media account that is not ours, is not something we can be held to.

If two sources disagree, ours is the one that counts. If you are unsure which is which, ask.

Anyone living in the Netherlands lawfully: Dutch nationals, holders of a residence permit, and people on a work or student visa.

A tourist visa is not enough. If that is what you hold, the application has to go through the Saudi embassy in the country you live in.

A passport valid for at least six months on the day you leave Saudi Arabia, and two passport photographs to the official specification. If you are not a Dutch national, a residence permit valid for more than six months.

Then, depending on who is travelling: a copy of the marriage certificate for spouses, a birth certificate for each child under 18, and for anyone who has converted, a legalised proof of Shahadah from a mosque or a comparable body.

Health requirements change from season to season and we tell you what is being asked for the year you are travelling.

Say something there and then, while it can still be put right. In this order: the hotel or airline it concerns, then your group leader, then us.

Raising it on the spot matters. If a problem is never reported, nobody had the chance to fix it, and a claim afterwards about something we were never told about can lose its force.

Raise it while you are there, in the order above, so it can be dealt with rather than only recorded. If it cannot be resolved on the spot we write it down.

If you are still not satisfied once you are home, tell us within two weeks of the end of the trip, or of the original departure date if the trip never happened.

By WhatsApp, telephone or the contact form, whichever suits you.

If your question is about a particular trip, mentioning which one saves a message.